Australian share trading has ground to a halt mid-session due to a glitch on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Trading was suspended for all stocks at 2:48pm (AEDT) due to the failure of the exchange's computer system to send confirmation messages for trades in some companies.
The ASX's spokesman Matthew Gibbs says the whole market had to be shut down to fix the problem, even though the original glitch only affected some companies.
Mr Gibbs has confirmed that all trades processed before the market went off-line will stand and are unaffected by the suspension of trade.
He says the exchange's technicians are working on the problem, but it is almost certain the market will not resume trade before the normal close at 4:00pm.
However, Mr Gibbs says the ASX is trying to give investors a chance to get trades through in a special session when the problem is fixed.
"The exchange is working towards reopening the market later today for a special after-hours session," he told ABC News Online.
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